Contents

Background

The K4s is considered the Pennsylvania Railroad's most famous class of steam locomotives, with a total of 425 engines produced from 1917 to 1928, and including the prototype that was built in 1914.[3] The last of K4s stayed in service well into the late 1950s, until being replaced with
diesel locomotives.

History

1361 was constructed in 1918 by the
Altoona Works. On June 8, 1957, 1361 was dedicated and placed on exhibit at the
Horseshoe Curve outside of Altoona. It had clocked an estimated 2.5 million miles (4.02 million kilometers) over its career.[4] 1361 remained at Curve until 1985 when it moved back to the Altoona Works. It was replaced, at the curve, with the
EMDGP9diesel locomotive7048, painted in Pennsylvania Railroad colors. 1361 was restored in 1987 to haul excursion trains. A year later, the
main bearing and the
drive axle suffered a
catastrophic failure. The Pennsylvania General Assembly designated 3750 and 1361 the official state steam locomotives on December 18, 1987, while also designating the
GG14859 the state
electric locomotive in the same bill.[5]

Restoration efforts

1361 was dismantled in 1996 and moved to
Steamtown in
Scranton. It was to be restored through a partnership between Steamtown, the
University of Scranton and the
Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona.[4] After an initial
grant of $420,000,
Governor of PennsylvaniaTom Ridge released an additional $600,000 in March 2000.[4] The restoration was forced to slow exponentially because "every broken pin and bolt had to be replaced with handmade duplicates."[4] Scheduled completion dates kept being pushed back and, after 13 years, the restoration had cost $1.7 million.[2][6] Most of the smaller components of 1361 were inventoried and returned to Altoona in 2007, when the museum stopped paying out funding until the rest of the locomotive, consisting mostly of the boiler, was returned to the museum.[7]

In April 2010, it was decided to cancel the current restoration plans for 1361.[6] Instead of rebuilding it and placing the locomotive back into service as an excursion train, the museum decided on "semi-static display."[6] The museum hoped to still be able to reconstruct the boiler so that it could still fired and produce enough steam pressure to operate at low speeds around museum property and blow the whistle.[6] The restoration was eventually canceled but because the boiler would have had to have been rebuilt to current specifications required by the
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which have drastically changed since the engine was first completed in 1918.

By 2013, the engine had been removed entirely from Scranton, with the frame, tender, and various small components stored in Altoona, while the boiler was stored at the
East Broad Top Railroad. [8] By early 2015, the museum had completed construction of their "quarter-
roundhouse" and began to place the 1361's tender, frame, and other components inside.[9] In late July, 2015, the 1361's boiler was moved to Altoona and placed in the roundhouse with the remainder of the engine. [10]

The engine is currently being worked on by a dedicated team of 4 people. Restoration cost is estimated at $750,000. The locomotive requires boiler patches, firebox patches, and a new crown sheet. Then, reassembly can take place. New parts for the 1361 have been fabricated and are ready for installation.Other than the boiler and firebox, all other work has been completed. After boiler is completed, the locomotive will be able to operate at full pressure. As of 2017, slow boiler and firebox work continues to take place.

As of May 2018, 1361 has another chance to see the high iron again, as Bennett Levin and
Wick Moorman have started to set up a private fund to restore her. The locomotive will have PRR style Timken roller bearings built from designs from the 1940s. It is said that there are several ex-PRR P70 and B60 cars to be used for the train.[11]